Thu, 01 Mar 2018

16:00 - 16:30
L4

Optimum thresholding using mean and conditional mean squared error

Cecilia Mancini
(Florence)
Abstract

Joint work with Josè E. Figueroa-Lòpez, Washington University in St. Louis

Abstract: We consider a univariate semimartingale model for (the logarithm 
of) an asset price, containing jumps having possibly infinite activity. The 
nonparametric threshold estimator\hat{IV}_n of the integrated variance 
IV:=\int_0^T\sigma^2_sds proposed in Mancini (2009) is constructed using 
observations on a discrete time grid, and precisely it sums up the squared 
increments of the process when they are below a  threshold, a deterministic 
function of the observation step and possibly of the coefficients of X. All the
threshold functions satisfying given conditions allow asymptotically consistent 
estimates of IV, however the finite sample properties of \hat{IV}_n can depend 
on the specific choice of the threshold.
We aim here at optimally selecting the threshold by minimizing either the 
estimation mean squared error (MSE) or the conditional mean squared error 
(cMSE). The last criterion allows to reach a threshold which is optimal not in 
mean but for the specific  volatility and jumps paths at hand.

A parsimonious characterization of the optimum is established, which turns 
out to be asymptotically proportional to the Lévy's modulus of continuity of 
the underlying Brownian motion. Moreover, minimizing the cMSE enables us 
to  propose a novel implementation scheme for approximating the optimal 
threshold. Monte Carlo simulations illustrate the superior performance of the 
proposed method.

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